Lead Scientist, Salty Snacks R&D

The Hershey Company; Hershey (PA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellbeing: Medical, dental, &

401(k) with company match

Paid time off & holidays

Internal mobility & development

Job summary

The Hershey Company is seeking a Staff Scientist, Salty R&D at the Hershey Technical Center in Hershey, PA. You will provide technical leadership for medium to high complexity product development projects across the Salty Snacks portfolio, delivering innovation and maintaining quality from concept to commercialization.

You will mentor junior scientists, collaborate with Marketing, Manufacturing, Engineering, and external partners, and travel up to 30% as needed to accelerate results.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in food science, product development, or related technical disciplines.
• Proven track record of commercializing new products and delivering improvements.
• Experience with baked snack formulation, processing, sensory evaluation, and scale-up.
• Ability to lead multiple projects with limited supervision.
• Strong collaboration across functions and with external partners; mentoring experience.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office and adaptability to new systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead product development projects from concept through commercialization with cross-functional teams.
• Drive next-generation baked and salty snack products through formulation, process, and scale-up.
• Identify and evaluate emerging ingredients, technologies, and industry trends via suppliers and events.
• Design, execute, document, and communicate research on salty snack formulation and baking processes.
• Provide technical expertise for innovation, renovation, and maintenance across the portfolio.
• Support data accuracy and enrichment in Hershey systems; mentor junior scientists.
• Build relationships with suppliers, consultants, and industry experts to accelerate results.
• Travel domestically up to 25-30% as required.

Skills

Food science

Product development

Project leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Education

BS, MS, or PhD in Food Science or related

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Hershey Company is seeking a Staff Scientist, Salty R&D at the Hershey Technical Center in Hershey, PA. You will provide technical leadership for medium to high complexity product development projects across the Salty Snacks portfolio, delivering innovation and maintaining quality from concept to commercialization.

You will mentor junior scientists, collaborate with Marketing, Manufacturing, Engineering, and external partners, and travel up to 30% as needed to accelerate results.